Leadership Update
Michele Deardorff, Assistant Principal, Barge-Lincoln
Welcome Michele Deardorff, Assistant Principal, Barge-Lincoln Elementary
The Yakima School District would like to welcome Michele Deardorff, who has been hired as the new assistant principal for Barge-Lincoln Elementary, beginning July 1.
Michele was raised in the Yakima Valley, graduating from Zillah High School in 2002. From there she attended Northwest Nazarene University where she obtained a degree in Elementary Education in 2006. She began her career in the Nampa School District teaching 3rd grade. After three years, she was ready for a new adventure and took a position overseas to teach 3rd grade at Union School, an American International School in Pétion-Ville, Haiti. Once there, she worked closely with the school administration to improve the school’s literacy program and by 2012 was hired as the school’s Literacy Coordinator. In this role, she provided interventions for struggling students, served as an instructional coach for teachers, and was instrumental in developing the school’s ELA curriculum.
Michele completed her Master of Education Degree in Reading from Northwest Nazarene University in 2015. When the school adopted a more collaborative approach to leadership in 2017, Michele was asked to serve on the School Leadership Team. She will complete Eastern Washington University’s Principal Certification program in June 2022.
Michele has a passion for working with multilingual students and their families and looks forward to continuing this work at Barge-Lincoln. She is excited to be moving back to the Yakima Valley with her fiancé and their 5-year-old daughter. In her free time, she loves music, reading, playing games with family, and baking.